The America East basketball coaches are predicting a repeat of last season's tournament championship game.

At least that's the way the vote turned out for the conference's preseason men's poll, released Thursday. Defending champion Vermont was the near-unanimous pick to repeat, and the University at Albany, which lost 56-53 in the title game at Burlington, was selected second.

Coaches could not vote for their own team, so Vermont received eight first-place votes and 64 total points. UAlbany got the other first-place vote, from Vermont coach John Becker, and 57 points. UMBC (45) was third.

"I have not even looked at the poll," UAlbany coach Will Brown said shortly after it was released. "It doesn't mean much to me, and I figured if there was a shocker on there and it wasn't 1-2, Vermont-Albany, that someone would have brought it to my attention."

On the women's side, UAlbany's five-year run as the preseason conference favorite ended. New Hampshire, which returns four starters from last year's regular-season winners, was the near-unanimous No. 1 choice, with UAlbany (one first-place vote) second, narrowly over No. 3 Binghamton.

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America East preseason polls

MEN

(first-place votes in parentheses)

1. Vermont (8) 64

2. UAlbany (1) 57

3. Md.-Baltimore Co. 45

4. Stony Brook 38

5. New Hampshire 37

6. Binghamton 29

tie Mass.-Lowell 29

8. Hartford 16

9.Maine 9

WOMEN

(first-place votes in parentheses)

1. New Hampshire (8) 64

2. UAlbany (1) 53

3. Binghamton 51

4. Hartford 43

5. Md.-Baltimore Co. 34

6. Maine 31

7. Vermont 24

8. Stony Brook 16

9.Mass.-Lowell 8

The Great Danes men (24-11, 10-6 last season) have their top five scorers back from last season, including preseason all conference selections Joe Cremo and David Nichols. They lost only two players — Mike Rowley and Dallas Ennema — from their playing rotation of a year ago.

The Catamounts return three of their top four scorers, led by preseason all-league selections Trae Bell-Haynes, a senior guard, and Anthony Lamb, a sophomore forward.

"Just out of respect for what they did last year and what they're returning, it made sense for Vermont to be No. 1," Brown said. "With what we have returning compared to the rest of the league, I expected us to be picked 2. No surprises there."

Either Vermont or UAlbany has played in the league final each of the past six years. In addition to last season, they also met in 2013, also in Burlington, where the Great Danes took home a 53-49 triumph.

In last fall's poll, Vermont was picked first and UAlbany third, behind New Hampshire. The Danes tied the Wildcats for third, then upset second-place Stony Brook in the tournament semifinals to advance to their fourth final in a five-year span.

Last year was the first time UAlbany ever lost an America East title game, having won in its previous five trips.

The Great Danes open their regular season Friday, Nov. 11, at home in a nonconference meeting with Iona.